Super Rugby Aotearora: Top Players Of The Day
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In front of 22 000 screaming fans, the Blues ended their nine-year winless drought in Hamilton this morning as they beat the Chiefs 24-12 at the Waikato Stadium.
The men from Auckland picked up their fifth consecutive win on the road, a new franchise record and today’s game was the sixth consecutive win in Super Rugby.
Here are our five stand out players from this morning’s bruising encounter:
Akira Ioane (The Blues)
It was a fantastic return to Blues starting line-up for the All Black loose forward, and he was certainly one of the best players on the park. The 25-year-old made 13 tackles, carried the ball 10 times, produces two offloads, beat one defender and also had a clean break during 73 minutes of play.
Akira Ioane with a strong first half. 💪
4⃣0⃣ Minutes:
1⃣0⃣x Tackles
4⃣ x Carries
2⃣ x Turnovers pic.twitter.com/wLPQxlhGIV
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) June 20, 2020
Hoskins Sotutu (The Blues)
The 21-year-old is making a real name for himself and many feel it is only a matter of time before he gets his New Zealand cap. The no.8 played another full 80 minutes of rugby and he produced the following.
He made 15 tackles, carried the ball seven times and scored a first-half try under the posts before setting up Telea for another.
7⃣ Carries 👊
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) June 20, 2020
5⃣ Passes✋
3⃣4⃣ Running metres 🏃♂️
1⃣ Defender Beaten 💨
1⃣5⃣ Tackles 💪
1⃣ Missed Tackle ✖️
1⃣ Try 🏉
1⃣ Try Assist 🅰️
Hoskins Sotutu had another outstanding game for the Blues 👏 #SuperRugbyAotearoa #CHIvBLU pic.twitter.com/krpny2UqBd
Beauden Barrett (The Blues)
The All Black star definitely had a much better day out for his new franchise today and found himself in an interesting battle with Chiefs star Damien McKenzie.
The 29-year-old was dangerous with ball in hand as he carried from 41 metre, beating six defenders and producing a single offload. Barrett also had a 100% tackles success rate and scored six points in the match.
That final pass from Sotutu 🔥 #SuperRugbyAotearoa #CHIvBLU pic.twitter.com/BxLSMYJ6P6
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) June 20, 2020
His shift from fullback to flyhalf in the second half paid instant dividends as the All Blacks superstar landed a 64th-minute drop goal. Five minutes later, his penalty opened up a seven-point advantage, The Blues did not look back from that point,
Patrick Tuipulotu (The Blues)
The Blues' captain has certainly came out of lockdown in some of the best form of his career.
Having recently re-signed with the Blues and New Zealand Rugby until 2023, Tuipulotu has been a force to be reckoned with in the opening two rounds of the competition.
Against the Chiefs, he was no different as he powered through a massive work load clearing our rucks, getting over the gainline and was a consent threat at the lineout.
Mark Telea (The Blues)
The Blues winger has had a standout year so far and keeps getting better every game he plays. Telea was deadly on attack one again as he carried the 37 metres, beating three defenders and producing two line breaks.
He also scored a try today which brings up his sixth of the season.
That final pass from Sotutu 🔥 #SuperRugbyAotearoa #CHIvBLU pic.twitter.com/BxLSMYJ6P6
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) June 20, 2020
Sean Wainui (The Chiefs)
The 24-year-old winger was unfortunately on the losing side yet again but put in a solid performance for his team. On attack, he carried the ball for 61 metres, beat two defenders and produced a loverly clean break.
It must be mentioned that Wainui was also outstanding in the air today and based many of his attacks from catching the ball out the air.
